LeBron James is getting ready to enter the 20th season of his NBA career, and the King is yet to show any major signs of slowing down. He is coming off a great individual season, but this time around, his goal must be to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to an NBA Championship.
James currently has four NBA rings to his name. He won two during his time with the Miami Heat, one during his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and his most recent one with the Los Angeles Lakers.
While having four NBA Championships is a great achievement, many still believe that James could easily have had two or three more rings at this point in his career. After all, he made eight consecutive NBA Finals appearances during the 2010s.
The Golden State Warriors dynasty is probably the biggest reason why James’ ring count is currently stuck at four.
LeBron James’ Mood Got Ruined Even After Winning The Eastern Conference Finals
The Cavaliers and the Warriors faced each other four consecutive times in the NBA Finals, where the latter won three times. While the rivalry was somewhat equal during the first two times, it was pretty one-sided when the Warriors decided to add Kevin Durant to the team.
NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith recently shared a story about how James’ mood was once ruined when he won the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics but realized he had to face the duo of Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry next.
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“I often bring this up. LeBron beats Boston in the Conference Finals. Doris Burke is interviewing him. … LeBron is smiling, ‘We going back to the finals, and then they said, ‘Now, you got KD and Steph.’ LeBron goes, ‘Oh, lord, I don’t even think about that right now. I’m in a good mood. I don’t want to stress myself.’ It was the first time that I saw a concession speech given on the court of an NBA conference finals.”
It’s not even surprising that LeBron’s mood changed within seconds of realizing that he had to face the Warriors, which had the incredible duo of KD and Steph. On top of that, the Dubs also had Klay Thompson and Draymond Green to make things worse for LBJ.
As we mentioned earlier, if KD never joined the Warriors, LeBron might have at least a couple more rings to his name. But it is what it is, and now James’ focus is on winning another title with the Lakers.
